Palate Cleanser
by blushingyellow
Summary: Wanda can't stand dating. She's not good at it and her best friend Clint knows all about it. What Wanda really needs is a Palate Cleanser


Wanda was ecstatic to be back in her own apartment, even if it was own by Stark. Anything was better then being out with that blowhard Natasha had set her up with. He had been loud, crass, and arrogant. The last part in of itself wasn't necessarily bad but the whole night Wanda felt like she was an unwilling participant in the one up-mans game.

To make matters worse, when he dropped her off at the front door of the building he tried to cop a feel. It took all of her will power and restraint to not call on her power and have him on his knees. She offered him a small, but tight smile and shook her head no when he asked for a second date. She didn't stick around to hear the profanity directed towards her past the first sylabol before she hurried into the building. He tried chasing after her but Doorsman Goode was there for just that reason.

"Beer?" Clint called from the kitchen. Wanda smiled to herself as she kicked off her unbearable uncomfortable heels. Of course Barton was already in her apartment. He knew she had another date tonight and this had become kind of a ritual with them. She'd go out with impossible men who either, needed to learn hygiene, only talked about themselves, or tried to use her to meet Captain America. There were no good men left in New York apparently or maybe she just had standards too high. She didn't exactly have a lot of experience with this kind of thing.

"Vodka." Wanda called back, peeling her dark jacket off and tossing it somewhere in the living room. Next date she went on she was wearing sweats, the stupid dresses and heels were just not worth it.

He glanced past the door of her fridge, his brow scrunched. If Wanda wasn't mistaken, there was definitely pity in his eyes. "That bad?" He asked, pulling her drink of choice out of her freezer and pouring her a large glass.

She downed half the cup without taking a breath or answering him. Of all the dates she had been on this month this had been the worse. She wanted a nice good buzz going before she got into things with Clint.

"Woah, slow down there Kiddo." He teased. She glared over the rim of her glass and flipped him the bird. There was a bit of an age difference between the two of them but she was over the days where he treated her like a child. She had been with the Avengers for years now and was even old enough to drink in America. Which 21 being the drinking age was ridiculus. Americans could put their lives on the line for their country at 18 but had to wait an extra three years to drink. It made no sense.

She slammed the empty cup on the counter a little harder then necessary, finally taking a breath. She had eaten practically nothing at dinner. Her date had ordered nothing but a salad for her and when she tried to order for herself he had thrown a hissy fit about how she should just trust him.

"Hit me again bartender." She said, her voice hoarse with the sting of the subpar vodka still in her throat. Clint didn't need any more encouragement. As much as he made fun of her age, he knew better then to think he could tell her what to do. He filled the glass again, smirking. He had warned her dating was hard in this city.

She gulped the drink again, though this time stopping before the glass was gone. Already her body felt like a live wire. Buzzing with electricity. She picked at a piece of banana bread she had left out on the table as soon as she put the glass down again. Her stomach rumbling. Damn that man.

"Did you not have enough to eat at diner?"

"He ordered me a salad." She stated, numbly. The alcohol doing it's job.

Clint barked out, his rough baritone echoing through her tiny apartment. Wanda was not amused by the situation but listening to Clint laugh made a smile tug at her lips. For a super spy he was notoriously easy going in a way that calmed the rage in Wanda.

"He ordered your dinner for you and he's still breathing?" He questioned, drinking from his bottle of beer that he had stolen from her fridge. Of course she only bought beer for him, not that Wanda would let him know that.

"I didn't think you guys would still let me be an avenger if I was in jail for murder." She teased. Already her mood elevating. He laughed again, moving around her kitchen into the living room. He plopped down on her couch like he lived here. Strangely it didn't bug Wanda as much as it had when Tony did the same thing and he owned the building.

"Probably right. You have horrible taste in men." He said, his eyes watching her as she followed the path he had taken to her couch.

Wanda scoffed. Clint may be right, her taste in men so far had been questionable but this time wasn't even her fault.

"Cleanse my palate then." She said offhandedly. The full weight of her words hitting her a moment too late as Clint clammed up. His smile disappearing as he stared at her in shock. She had thought she had gotten over her crush on Clint a while ago but as the silence between them thickened she realized just how much she wished she had been on a date with Clint. "Ignore me. I'm halfway to drunk and don't know what I'm saying." She blathered when the silence become too much. Damn it. She liked this little ritual they had and now she fucked it up.

"Wanda…" Clint started, putting his bottle down on her coffee table. She could sense the turmoil in him without even using her powers. He was probably looking for a way out of this awkward situation. She had thought her date had been bad but this was so much worse.

"I'm actually really tired. Do you mind if we catch up on the horribleness that was tonight tomorrow?" She asked, not bothering to wait for him to respond before she stood up and walked towards the door. Her chest tightened as he followed her. This old stupid crush of hers was going to be the death of her.

"Wanda." He said again, but she didn't turn until she had the door opened for him. She just wanted to crawl under her covers and disappear for the night.

She turned on her heels to bid him goodbye when he reached for her. His hand grasping hers and pulling her close until her body was pressed against his.

In the flurescnce light of her apartment his face was so close she could smell the bitterness of hops on his breath. Her whole body was alive, the gentle brush of his fingers against her backside amped her desire up to eleven, and then his mouth slammed down on hers. It was a take no prisoners type of kiss, blind siding and out of nowhere. For the first few moments she didn't move, half convinced her vodka idled brain had imagined it. Then it didn't even matter. If her brain had conconcted the whole thing, she was going to enjoy it.

She pulled at him. A frenzied need running rampant inside of her. He nudged her knees open wider; she was acutely aware of the trail his fingers traced as they slid down over her hips until there the heat of his fingers burned into her skin. His fingers dug into the flesh of her thighs and before she knew she was lifted off of her feet. There was a vague awareness of something jabbing into her back as he backed her up against the door, his mouth still assaulting hers. A fire building in her stomach as his teeth nipped her lower lip. She could feel him smiling against her lips. Wanda scrapped her nails down his neck in a futile attempt to urge him closer.

Just as suddenly as it started it ended. He pulled away, his hazel eyes dark and vaguely threatening. Which was not something Wanda thought she would ever say about Clint at least not in conjunction with her.

She shuddered, taking a deep breath. If her legs were not currently wrapped around his waist, she would have thought she made the whole thing up.

A bead of laughter started to bubble in her chest.

Her smiled again, or maybe it was still. Wanda was having a hard time wrapping her mind around anything at this moment.

"Palate cleansed enough?" She blinked her eyes slowly, trying to decipher his words. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins that for a moment all she could hear was the rushing of waves. But then she laughed. He really had just thrown her own words at her after the heat of a moment.

"hmmm." She murmured, holding onto him tighter looking down into his face. She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"No?" he grinned inching his face closer and closer. She had no patience for the thrill of the buildup, she'd enjoy that a different night. She grasped the back of his neck and pulled him to her. Slanting her mouth down over his. Tonight was the greatest night of her life and it had all been thanks to Nat.


End file.
